Il Trovatore in concert (Leonora)

July 23rd, 2011

“Last year’s operatic high point in Oregon was the pairing of Angela Meade and Richard Zeller in Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘Il Trovatore’ at Washington Park. The soprano sensation from Centralia made her Portland debut singing into the sun amid chatting picnickers and wandering toddlers, and even in those less than ideal conditions she shone alongside her fellow Northwesterner and Metropolitan Opera colleague Zeller. She’d have raised the roof if there’d been one.  This year’s high point was the same, with the added benefit of a room – Astoria’s handsome Liberty Theater – to display their sound to full effect … As Leonora, she combined bel canto finesse with power and profound musicality. She delivered fine filigrees of crisp coloratura and, especially in the fourth act, lingered on stratospheric pianissimos as the audience collectively held its breath.

The Oregonian, James McQuillen (Astoria Music Festival, OR, July 2011)

Meade was spectacular in the role of Leonora, with gorgeous lyrical lines, crisp coloratura, beautiful tone and remarkable breath control. She ranged from heart-stopping stratospheric pianissimos down to a rich, well-supported low register, with plenty of power and color — and a keen sense of how to use them — in between.”

The Oregonian, James McQuillen (Washington Park, OR, August 2010)